Europe 2014- The Nobel Prize Museum

We spent our last morning in Sweden at The Nobel Prize Museum.

We took the first English tour of the morning, which had about ten other people in our group and a wonderful guide. We learned all about Alfred Nobel's life and how he ended up endowing this award. Then we moved on to a quick rundown of the most recent winners and their contributions. We finished the hour-long tour with our guide highlighting some of her favorite winners.

I have mixed feelings about the museum.

On the positive, I learned many interesting facts about Alfred Nobel, the prize and the innovations of past winners. I had no idea that the award was given based on a particular innovation, rather than a lifetime of achievements. Many winners have won the award multiple times. It was fascinating to learn about innovations that I had never heard of, but that have made such a big impact on the world. The award winners are very inspirational.

On the downside, this museum reminded me of The Guinness Book of World Records Museum in Hollywood. It was mostly just a bunch of facts up on walls, rather than actual artifacts or interactive components. There were a few displays of the prize winning inventions, but not many. Mostly, there were pictures of the inventions with a blurb about the winner. This made me feel like I could have obtained the same information and experience from reading a book about the Nobel Prize, as I did from having visited the museum.

We spent just under two hours at The Nobel Prize Museum and overall, I'm happy that we had it in our itinerary. The gift shop is not to be missed. It's filled with quirky and fun items.

After the museum, we took a coffee break at the Cafe Nova in Old Town.

At Cafe Nova, we drank lattes and ate one of Dan's favorite Swedish treats, Dammsugare. A Dammsugare, which for reasons unknown to me stands for "vacuum cleaner", is a marzipan covered pastry with a cookie/chocolate/alcohol soaked filling. It's rich and delicious.

The Nobel Prize Museum and Cafe Nova, were a perfect way to spend our last morning in Stockholm.

Europe 2014- Drottningholm Palace

On a very wet and cold Tuesday morning in late August, we boarded a ferry to take us to Drottningholm Palace.

Located on the island of Lovon, Drottningholm Palace is a private residence of the Swedish Royal Family. It was built in the late 16th century and has undergone many renovations over the years.

Photography was not allowed inside of the palace, but we were able to take many picture of the grounds and the exterior of the palace.

The backside of the palace was even more magnificent, with an shiny gold gate as an entry to the gardens.

Dan took this panorama of the beautiful garden.

We did a self-guided tour of the palace, which as I've mentioned with other landmarks, is a mistake. Always wait for a proper tour. We often had no clue what we were looking at, as we explored the opulent rooms. One thing that was very memorable, was the eye-tricking paint jobs. In efforts to save building costs, there were often illusions to make the palace appear fancier than it actually was, like painting techniques to give the facade of depth in a flat space. It's pretty clever actually! As with other buildings in Sweden, Drottningholm Palace was filled with vibrant colors to bring cheer on during the gloomy winters. Or even gloomy summers, like the day we visited.

Far more interesting than the Palace, was the Drottningholm Palace Theatre.

The Drottningholm Palace Theatre has a long and very interesting history. It was originally built at the end of the 17th century and was decorated to emulate the French style. A fire destroyed the original theatre in 1762.

The current theatre was rebuilt in 1766 and many of the original theatre effects, like a thunder machine and a Deus Ex Machina, still work. The theatre was very much championed by King Gustav III, who even acted on the stage. After King Gustav lll was assassinated in 1792, the theatre was left to waste.

In 1920, the theatre was restored and has been running since 1922. The theatre was the first Swedish landmark to be part of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

We took an tour in English, with a Swedish guide who spoke with a heavy Australian accent. As part of the hour long tour, we were able to sit in on the rehearsal for the current production, Mozart's Idomeneo. Photography was not allowed in the theatre, but I was allowed a few shots in the lobby.

All of the touring made us desperate for a latte. We took a break at the lovely cafe on the Palace grounds.

When I went to use the restroom, I came across the best sign ever. Obviously, I can relate to this sign. I often use public toilets wearing only high heels and my lingerie.

Drottningholm Palace is a worthy addition to your Stockholm itinerary. Make sure to arrive early to beat the crowds. I recommend visiting the theatre before the Palace, as the theatre is only available by private tours and the palace is self-guided.

Europe 2014- ABBA The Museum

No self-respecting tourist could possibly visit Stockholm and exclude ABBA The Museum from their itinerary. Located on an island with other tourist hot-spots like Skansen and Grona Lund, the building housing ABBA the Museum, may appear small, but it took us over three hours to learn everything that we ever wanted to know (and then some) about Sweden's most popular band.

Our ABBA experience started before we purchased our admission. In the outside courtyard, we were given the opportunity to be our favorite ABBA member in a photo-op and we spotted a ABBA themed bus.

We added an additional 40kr to our 145kr admission fee, so that we could have the audio tour. The audio tour had tons of in-depth commentary from all four of the band members, plus important people who knew and worked with them. It's a worthy addition to the ABBA experience.

After watching a five minute introduction film, that left us pumped for all things ABBA, we entered the museum and saw this giant sign.

The first part of the museum is dedicated to the early lives of the band members- Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.

ABBA won the 1974 Eurovision contest with Water-Loo. On display, they had the costumes that they wore, the guitar played and the medal that they won in the contest. It was this win that put ABBA on the fast-track to fame.

There was a sign telling us to pick up the phone when it rings to hear a message from the band. Sadly, we waited and waited and it never rang. I guess ABBA didn't want to talk to us!

There was a section of the museum with recreations of ABBA's recording studio, their managers office and a country cabin where they liked to go to escape and write songs.

We saw several displays of tour merchandise, including ABBA soap!

There was also some ABBA fandom that was a bit creepy.

Beyond the music, ABBA is know for outrageous and unforgettable costumes. I love the cat dresses. Besides the many outfits on display, there was a mock costume shop and scene depicting a typical ABBA tour dressing room.

It was at ABBA the Museum, that Dan learned that I really can't sing. I told him and he didn't believe me. Here I am, butchering Dancing Queen. No video, I spared you.

We also played around on instruments. This was my first time holding a guitar.

We saw all of their albums and gold records on display.

This has to be the best album cover of all time. Nice jumpsuits. I want to hear Gracias Por La Musica!

We saw Benny's childhood accordion and their snazzy tour microphones.

The saddest thing in the museum was this room.

The room is a recreation of Agnetha's house, where she lived after divorcing Bjorn. In the audio commentary, Bjorn remembers the sadness over picking up their children from Agnetha's house and how she was the one who decided to put the children above being in the band. He wanted to keep making music and she wanted to retreat to a quiet life and raise their children. In reflection, he admits that she was right about putting the children first and at the time, he couldn't understand how she could abandon their dream of ABBA.

The ABBA component makes up about 90% of the museum, however there is a small section dedicated to other Swedish musicians. Who remembers Roxette?

Modeled after the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Swedish Music Hall of Fame opened in the spring of 2014. It was a small exhibit, limited to one room and we saw the initial batch of inductees. The honorees seemed to represent a wide range of styles, but I had not heard of any of the artists. The immense fame of ABBA really overshadows everything else in the museum.

Whether or not you are a fan of ABBA, the museum is a must-do tourist attraction. It's highly interactive and entertaining.